1. The will of "Shadrack Henderson" was executed in 1810 and probated in 1811 (Nelson County, Virginia; Will Book A; page 135). The will identifies Shadrack's wife as Mary, and his children as Sally Martin, Barbary Martin, Joseph Henderson, John Henderson, Mary Tisdel, Nancy Kerby, Lucy Beaver, and William Henderson. My transcription of the original will is here.

2. The following marriages, which appear to be those of Shadrack's children, are listed in Albemarle County Marriages, 1780-1853, by John Vogt & T. William Kethley, Jr. (the volume and page numbers refer to this book):

I have been unable to find the marriage of a Lucy HENDERSON (or MARTIN) to a Mr. Beaver (or Baber) in Albemarle or Nelson County.

3. The Nelson County personal-property tax lists begin in 1809, the year after the county's creation. Shadrack appears in the lists for 1809, 1810, and 1811. In 1809, he is listed as "Shadrack Martin," and in 1810 and 1811 (the year of his death), he is listed as Shadrack Henderson. There is no Shadrack Henderson listed in 1809, and there is no Shadrack Martin listed in 1810 or 1811. The lists for 1810 and 1811 include a William Henderson identified as the son of Shadrack. My abstract of relevant entries from the Nelson County lists is here. (In the federal census of 1810, he is called Shadrach Henderson (Nelson Co., p. 74).)

4. The personal-property tax lists for Albemarle County, Virginia (contiguous to Nelson) include a Shadrack Martin or Shadrack Henderson from 1782 (the first such list) through 1807. He is listed as Shadrack Martin in 1782, 1783, and 1785, and as Shadrack Henderson in 1784 and in 1786 through 1807 (except for 1804, when neither name appears). In every year in which the list includes a Shadrack Martin, no Shadrack Henderson appears, and vice versa. The lists for 1800 through 1807 (except 1804) include a William Henderson and John Henderson identified as sons of Shadrack. (John Henderson's entry in the 1807 list says "John Henderson S Son est" -- apparently meaning "John Henderson, Shadrack's son, estate." See paragraph 25 below.) My abstract of relevant entries from the Albemarle County lists is here.
(The personal-property tax lists for Amherst County, from which Nelson was created in 1808, do not include a Shadrack HENDERSON or MARTIN from at least 1786 through 1807 -- that is, the period during which Shadrack appears in the Albemarle County lists. He apparently moved from Albemarle to Nelson in the same year that Nelson was created. [I did not search 1782-1785 in the Amherst lists because the lists for those years are not alphabetized.])

5. Mary MARTIN first appears in the Nelson County personal-property tax lists in 1811 (the year of Shadrack's death). She is listed in every year from 1811 through 1818, always as Mary Martin. There is no Mary HENDERSON in any of the Nelson County personal-property tax lists, from 1809 through at least 1825. These later years are also included in my abstracts.

6. The following entry, dated February 3, 1801, appears in the Albemarle County (Virginia) Court Order Book for 1800-1801, at page 280 (as transcribed in Albemarle County Road Orders 1783-1816, by Nathaniel Mason Pawlett (Dec. 1975, revised Apr. 2004), page 107; available on-line courtesy of the Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council):

Samuel Smithson is appointed Surveyor of the road from Charles McGehee's to where Hudsons Road enters Martin Kings road near the forge Church with the following Male Laboring Tytheables to wit Absalom McQuerry's, John Hendersons on Turkey Run Shadrack Martin's, Joseph Martin's, John Martin's Giles Allegrees, Martin Copeland's, William Copeland's, David Durham's and his own and It is ordered that the said Smithson keep the same in good repair

The Joseph Martin and John Martin mentioned in this road order are presumably Shadrack's sons Joseph and John.

7. Here are all of the known land records involving Shadrack Martin/Henderson. All of the land records use the surname Henderson, even in years when other records use Martin. (Some of the details in this paragraph may not help to solve the Martin/Henderson puzzle that is the focus of this Web page, but may contribute, in other respects, to my research regarding Shadrack.)

The earliest known record (of any kind) regarding Shadrack Martin/Henderson is a survey for Shadrick HENDERSON, dated October 24, 1775, of 190 acres in Albemarle County "on the North side the Fluvanna river and on the waters of Buck island creek" (Plat Book One, page 117; abstracted in "Land Lying in the County of Albemarle:" Albemarle County, Virginia Surveyors' Plat Books, Volume 1, Parts 1 and 2, and Volume 2, 1744-1853 [and 1892], by Eric G. Grundset). This survey bears the notation "Transferred to John Hammond pr ord." (this notation is in the same handwriting as the rest of the survey, but is slightly darker, suggesting that it was written at a different time or using a different pen).

A deed, of which the following is an abstract, appears in Albemarle County, "(Old) Deeds for Further Proof, 1785-1863" (Library of Virginia reel #111): Executed September 23, 1782. John Hammond of Albemarle County to Shadrack Henderson of Albemarle County, £24, 190 acres in Albemarle County on the waters of Buck Island Creek surveyed for Shadrack Henderson on October 24, 1775, "and by him transferred to said Hammond." Signed John Hammon. Witnesses Benjn. Lacy, Hierom Gaines, Humphrey Gaines. Mem: On the day of the within Indenture, peaceable possession of the within land was given to Shadrack Henderson, before the under written witnesses. Signed John Hammon. Same witnesses. Recd. of Shadrack Henderson the within mentioned consideration in full. Signed John Hammon. Same witnesses.

The following entry, dated April 11, 1783, appears in Albemarle County Order Book 1783-1785, on page 17: "An Indenture of Feoffment between John Hammon of the one part and Shadrack Henderson of the Other part, Together with a memorandum and Receipt thereon Endorsed was proved by the Oath of Benjamin Laicy and Hierom Gaines two witnesses thereto." (This deed does not appear in the index to deeds. I've also searched, page-by-page, the deed book that covers this time period (Deed Book 8), and no such deed is recorded there. At least four other deeds proved on April 11, 1783 (not involving Shadrack), do appear in the deed book (pages 58-59, 64-66).) I cannot tell why this deed was not recorded.)

On May 23, 1783, the Governor of Virginia, in consideration of "one Pound Sterling Paid by Shaderick Henderson," granted the same 190-acre tract in the 1775 survey "unto John Hammond Assignee of the said Shadrick Henderson" (Land Office Grants I, page 14; image of the grant on the Library of Virginia Web site is here). The meets-and-bounds description in this land grant matches the drawing in the 1775 survey. (My review of other surveys in the Grundset book and other land grants on the LVA site indicates that this kind of delay between the survey and the grant was not unusual.)

The Grundset book cited above ("Land Lying in the County of Albemarle"...) includes surveys for other persons that refer to Shadrack's contiguous property, giving his name as Shaderick Henderson (survey dated 1784, on page 117) and as Shadrach Henderson (survey dated 1798, on page 135). The book contains no reference to property of John Hammon in any survey.

On June 1, 1807, "Shadrack Henderson and Mary his wife of Albemarle County" conveyed this same 190-acre tract to one David A. Reynolds (Albemarle County Deed Book 15, page 621) -- presumably in connection with their move to Nelson County. The meets-and-bounds description in this deed matches the description in the 1783 land grant.

The Albemarle County land tax lists, which start in 1782, include entries of 197 acres for Shadrack Henderson or Shadrach Henderson in 1786 through 1803, and entries of 194 acres for Shadrack Henderson in 1804 through 1810. The entry for 1786 includes the notation "to John Hammond by conveyence." (Library of Virginia, land tax records, reels #6, #7.) (Many thanks to Sylvia Camden Ray for sending this information from the land tax records.)

There is no other recorded, indexed deed in Albemarle County, during the period 1748 to 1819, in which Shadrack Henderson or Shadrack Martin is a grantor or grantee. (This was checked for me by Lineages, Inc.)

No Shadrack HENDERSON/MARTIN or Mary HENDERSON/MARTIN appears on the land tax lists for Nelson County, Virginia, from 1809 through at least 1825. (Library of Virginia, land tax records, reel #205.)

William H. MARTIN

8. My third great-grandfather, William H. MARTIN, was married to a Sarah DOLLINS, daughter of Richard DOLLINS (the evidence for
this connection is in my gedcom). Their first known child, Mary Ann MARTIN (my second great-grandmother), was born in 1816 (Records of the Virginia Conference, Southern States Mission, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FHL microfilm #0001995).

9. I have been unable to find a marriage record for William H. Martin and
Sarah Dollins. There is, however, a marriage record for William HENDERSON and
Sarah Dollins, daughter of Richard, in Albemarle County on July 30, 1811 -- five years before the birth of my William H. Martin's first known child (marriage bond
and consent note, Albemarle County clerk's office).

10. There is only one Richard DOLLINS or DOLLENS in the 1785
and 1810 censuses for Albemarle County.

11. The bondsman for the marriage of William Henderson and Sarah Dollins was John Dollins. My William H. and Sarah MARTIN later conveyed certain land to John Dollins that
they had inherited from Richard Dollins, Sarah's father (Albemarle County Deed Book 24, page 432).

12. My William H. Martin always signed with an X mark, and the William Henderson of the 1811 marriage signed the marriage bond with an X mark. My Sarah Dollins, wife of William H. Martin, always signed with an X mark, and the Sarah Dollins who married William Henderson signed with an X mark in
consenting to the marriage.

14. My ancestor William H. Martin was born and died in Albemarle County (Albemarle County, Virginia; Register of Deaths, 1853-1861 [1853, line 161]), but he lived in Nelson County in at least 1820, 1840, and 1850 (federal census, pages 196, 67, and 295, respectively).

15. The Nelson County personal-property tax list for 1818 includes a "Wm H. Martin," listed immediately before Joseph Martin (another son of Shadrack) and Mary Martin. Listed immediately before "Wm H. Martin" is "Shardrack H. Martin" (appearing for the first time; perhaps he is a grandson of the Shadrack who died about 1811?). In several deeds and other records referring to my William H. Martin, that middle initial is consistently used.

16. The 1811 tax list for Nelson County, which includes both Shadrack Henderson and his widow, Mary Martin (presumably taxed on her own after Shadrack's death earlier in the year), also includes both a "Wm Henderson (s. Sha)" and a "Wm Martin Son (s. Shad)". Similarly, in other Nelson County tax lists after Shadrack's death, William's surname shifts from Martin to Henderson: in 1812, there is a William Martin but no William Henderson (except one that says son of Robert); and in 1813, there is a William Henderson but no William Martin (except one designated as "Doctor" who had appeared as such in all prior years). See my abstracts here.

17. Shadrack Henderson's household in 1810 was composed of a male and a female, both age 45+ (i.e., Shadrack and Mary), and another male, age 26-44 (Nelson Co., page 74). My William H. Martin was about thirty years old in 1810, and his first known child was not born until 1816 (see William's notes in my gedcom).

Nancy HENDERSON/MARTIN KIRBY

18. My third great-grandmother, Nancy MARTIN, died in Albemarle County in October 1864. According to the Albemarle County death register,
her parents were John and Mary MARTIN, and her husband was James KIRBY. The informant was Calvin Kirby, Nancy's son and my second great-grandfather.

19. The first known child of James Kirby and Nancy Martin was born about 1805, according to the 1850 census (see that child's page in my gedcom). I have been unable to find a marriage record for James Kirby and Nancy Martin. There is, however, a marriage record for James Kirby and Nancy Henderson
in Albemarle County, on July 29, 1806 (marriage bond, Albemarle County clerk's office). The bondsman was Samuel McDaniel, who was also the bondsman for the marriage of Susannah Kirby and John Henderson, another child of Shadrack Henderson.

20. Shadrack Henderson's will listed one of his children as Nancy Kerby. In the recorded marriages of Albemarle County and Nelson County, the only Kirby/Kerby groom marrying a Nancy before 1810 was James Kirby. (Albemarle County Marriages, 1780-1853; by John Vogt and T. William Kethley; vol. I; pages 185-186, 189.)

21. There is only one James KIRBY in the 1810 and 1820 censuses for Albemarle County (1810,
page 164; 1820, page 37).

22. Based on the road order at item 7 above, a neighbor of my Shadrack Martin was William Copeland, who married Charity Kirby, a sister of my James Kirby, in 1803 (Albemarle County Marriages, 1780-1853; by John
Vogt & T. William Kethley; vol. II; page 530).

John HENDERSON/MARTIN and Susannah KIRBY MARTIN

23. A sister of my third great-grandfather, James Kirby, was Susanna Kirby, daughter of John Kirby. Susanna's surname was MARTIN by 1810, when she joined with her
siblings in relinquishing her right to certain land that John, by then deceased, had conveyed to a third party during his lifetime (Albemarle County Deed Book 17, page 396).

24. I have been unable to find a marriage record of Susanna Kirby and a Mr. Martin. There is, however, a marriage record for Susannah Kirby and John Henderson
in Albemarle County on January 17, 1803 (Albemarle County Marriages, 1780-1853; by John Vogt & T. William Kethley; vol. II; page 534). The bondsman for this marriage was Samuel
McDaniel, who was the husband of Nancy Kirby, another sister of my ancestor James Kirby (see Nancy's page in my gedcom); and one of the witnesses on the bond was John Carr, who was a witness on the marriage
bond for Charity Kirby, sister of James (Albemarle County Marriages, 1780-1853; by John
Vogt & T. William Kethley; vol. II; page 530). (Incidentally, there is also a record of a marriage of Susanna "Kerby" to an unnamed groom in Albemarle County on January 17, 1802 [Albemarle
County Marriages, 1780-1853; by John Vogt & T. William Kethley; vol. II; page 531]. However, given the fact that the month and day are the same and that handwritten 2's and 3's from
the early nineteenth century can easily be confused, this is apparently another record of Susanna's marriage to John "Henderson," rather than a separate marriage to a Mr. MARTIN.)

25. Shadrack Henderson's will says that his son, John,
had died before the will was executed on May 27, 1810 (the Albemarle County tax lists indicating that John died about 1807); and Susanna Kirby, daughter of my John Kirby, was apparently a widow when, on December 28, 1810, she signed her name as "Susanna Martin" in joining with her
siblings in relinquishing their right to certain land of their father (Albemarle County Deed Book 17, page 396). Susanna's husband did not sign with her, whereas Susanna's sister, Charity, signed the document with
her husband; and a living husband's signature would obviously be necessary to make such a relinquishment complete. In fact, one Susan Martin married John Jones in Albemarle County on December 4, 1821 (Albemarle County Marriages, 1780-1853; by John Vogt & T. William Kethley; vol. II; page 552). The bondsman for this marriage was William Kerby, a brother of "my" Susannah KIRBY MARTIN -- further indicating that her first husband, Mr. Martin, had died.

Joseph HENDERSON/MARTIN

26. There is no Joseph Henderson (or Mary Henderson) in the 1810 or 1820 census for Albemarle County or Nelson County. There is, however, a Joseph Martin in Nelson County in 1810
(page 82) who could be the Joseph "Henderson" who married Mary Durham in January 1799 (two males under 10, one male 10-15, one male 15-25 [possibly a nephew?], one male 45 and up, two females under 10, one female 26-44). Moreover, the published marriage records of Albemarle County and Amherst County (parent county of Nelson) do not include any Joseph MARTIN who married between 1786 and 1804, when the mother in this family would have been twenty years old or older
(Albemarle County Marriages, 1780-1853, by John Vogt & T. William Kethley, Jr.; Marriage Bonds and Other Marriage Records of Amherst County, Virginia, 1763-1800, by William Montgomery Sweeny). (The Amherst County book,
though, does not cover the last four years of this period.) Also, as noted above, a Joseph Martin appears in the 1818 personal-property tax list for Nelson County, immediately before the Mary Martin who was apparently the widow of Shadrack Henderson.

Although exceedingly speculative at this point, the possibility exists that this runaway from Augusta County, John Martin, settled in Albemarle County and changed his name to Shadrack Henderson to avoid capture. If this John Martin were eighteen years old when he ran away (the advertisement calls him a "man"), he would have been seventy-five years old in 1811, when my Shadrack Henderson/Martin died.

However, the fact that my Shadrack's oldest child was probably born no earlier than about 1773 -- based on marriage dates and tax records -- makes this scenario unlikely.

Here are some of the unfruitful research avenues that I've exhausted while pursuing this puzzle:

Looked for the "children" of Shadrack Henderson/Martin in the death registers of Albemarle County and Nelson County: couldn't find any of them,
except for my William H. Martin and Nancy (Martin) Kirby. The Albemarle death register covers 1853-1861, and the Nelson register covers 1853-1872.

Looked for Shadrack Henderson/Martin in the deed index of Albemarle County; the only instrument found was the 1807 deed described in paragraph 7 of the "Evidence." (This was checked for me by Lineages, Inc.)

Looked for Shadrack Henderson/Martin in the deed indices of Nelson County and Amherst County (Nelson's parent county): he's not in those indices. (The Amherst index was searched for me by Lineages, Inc.)

Searched for Shadrack's "children" in the 1850 census of Virginia. Also searched the 1850 census in other states as well, to one degree or another depending on the commonness of each name and the locations involved. (For example, I have not looked into
any of the sixty-nine George Martins who lived in New York in 1850.)

Checked the will index of Nelson County for other probate documents on Shadrack Henderson/Martin's estate (such as a settlement or executor's bond): there are none. (This was done for me by Lineages, Inc.).

Asked the Nelson County clerk's office whether they have executor's bonds that are not recorded in the will books: they don't.

Looked for a marriage of Shadrack HENDERSON or Shadrack MARTIN in Marriage Bonds and Other Marriage Records of Amherst County, Virginia, 1763-1800, by William Montgomery Sweeney, and in Albemarle County Marriages, 1780-1853, by John Vogt & T. William Kethley, Jr.: he's not there.

Looked for any probate record, in Albemarle County and Amherst County, for a John Martin who could be the biological father of my Nancy MARTIN KIRBY. My inability to find such a record contributes to the speculation that Shadrack Henderson/Martin may have used two given names as well as two surnames.

Looked for any reference to Shadrack as a child in Albemarle County Order Book 1744-1748 (Library of Virginia reel 46): there's no such reference. (Unfortunately, Albemarle County order books do not exist for the period 1749-1782.)

Looked for any reference to Shadrack as a child in Goochland County order books for 1728-1749 (Family History Library microfilms 31671 and 31672): there's no such reference in the indices, although the indices for 1728-1741 are partially missing. (Albemarle County was created from Goochland in 1744.)

This page Copyright 2002 W. Scott Simpson. All rights reserved. A person viewing this page
online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her
personal, non-commercial reference. The material on this page may not otherwise be copied,
duplicated, downloaded, printed, stored, transmitted, reproduced, or otherwise used, in any
form or medium, except with the prior, express written permission of the author. Linking to
this page, however, is encouraged. If you would like to share this page with others, please do so only by conveying
the URL (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~vagenealogy/martin.htm), and not by copying and pasting the text.